We don’t normally review buffets. But this is no ordinary buffet.
Today we’re talking about Feast – a wild new concept out in Woodbury that takes the typical Asian Buffet idea and turns it on its head, coats it in high-end decorations, and then adds more dishes to it than we ever imagined possible.
Contents
DiscoverTheCities.com Approved Menu Items
Who cares? It’s a buffet… try it all!
But if you’re worried about limited belly space, these were the best things we had:
- Sushi rolls and nigiri (volcano roll and salmon nigiri were my personal favorites)
- Build-your-own hibachi bowl
- Fried chicken wings
- Beignet with yuzu filling
About Feast in Woodbury
Feast is a family operation headed up by Kevin Ni. Ni isn’t a household name in the Twin Cities food scene the way a lot of other local chefs and restaurateurs are, and to be honest we had to do some research on his background.
It turns out, he and his family have quietly built up a portfolio around the Twin Cities which includes:
- Sushi Train – the first conveyor belt sushi in Minnesota
- Captain Crab – Cajun crab boil spot out in Brooklyn Center
- Mochinut – suburban chain of Asian donuts
- And now Feast Buffet and Banquet
The idea for Feast is simple: an Asian buffet, with an emphasis on seafood, plus high-end vibes.
And apparently, the concept struck a chord, and the buffet has gone completely bananas viral on Instagram.
We knew we had to find out if this hype was for real, so we headed east, camera and notepad in hand, ready to share it all with you!
Our First-Hand Experience at Feast
A failed visit: The Instagram hype was so real that on our first (attempted) visit, we came on Tuesday evening… but the parking lot was completely full and the line was out the door, wrapping all the way around the building. (We had no desire to wait an hour in the cold, so we hightailed it to Meritage in downtown St. Paul.)
Second attempt: We rain checked to the next Tuesday, this time showing up around 5:45 to hopefully squeeze in before the previous 6 pm dinner rush.
Crazy lines: We arrived to another line out the door, but not yet around the building, so we decided to stick it out. (This apparently is a common occurrence. Inside, there’s even amusement park-style queues, dividers, and signage to organize the hordes.) 15 minutes later, and we were in.
Vibe and Atmosphere
Absolute spectacle: To say Feast is a spectacle would not be an exaggeration…
You walk into marble floors, abstract sculptures, and glass chandeliers. The host stand operates like less like a restaurant and more like the doorman to an exclusive club – they consult their secret service-style earpiece before zig-zagging you through the enormous space and into your seat. Speaking of which…
Huge space: The dining room is massive, with endless tables, booths, tables, tables, and more tables. If that wasn’t enough, there’s several offshoot banquet rooms, which act as overflow seating when the main dinning area fills up. We were sat in one of these rooms on our Tuesday visit, so we’re guessing these get frequent use.
Elegant Touches: forget about your grandparents’ dirty buffets, this feels like a whole new experience. Those nightclub vibes extend from the host stand all over the restaurant:
- The buffet runs along stunning marble countertops
- Each section is marked with sleek, glowing signage
- The booths are circled with mesmerizing fires (fake, of course, but no less eye catching)
- Elegant light fixtures, glass chandeliers, and neon lighting hangs around every corner of the space.
Immaculately Clean: Maybe it’s one too many trips to the Golden Corrals of the world, but when I picture a buffet, a dirty sneeze guard is one of the first images I can’t get out of my head. But on our visit to Feast, I spotted at least one or two staff members whose exclusive job was constantly organizing and cleaning the buffet line, and it shows. There wasn’t a drop of soy sauce to be seen on the buffet counters, and the spotless glass sneeze guard was clean enough to eat off. (Which is a good thing, because you kind of are…)
The (All You Can Eat!) Food
If the dining room is massive, the buffet options are even bigger. The middle of the restaurant is like a giant courtyard of all you can eat, with buffet lines shooting off in every direction. Here’s a shortlist of what I remember seeing, and I’m sure I’m missing a bunch:
- Hibachi station (build your own)
- Noodles
- Veggies
- Proteins
- Garlic or hot sauce
- Grill:
- Grilled salmon
- Short ribs
- Gyoza
- Mini swordfish
- Prime rib
- Sushi:
- Millions of sushi rolls (20+)
- Salmon nigiri
- Whitefish nigiri
- Tuna nigiri
- Eel nigiri
- Sashimi
- Poke bowls
- Soups
- Custom Buddha soup
- Clam chowder
- Hot and sour soup
- Fried rice
- Orange chicken
- Beef and broccoli
- Crab legs
- Shrimp
- Oysters
- Clams
- Whole stone crabs
- Snails
- Drinks
- Milk machine
- Boba drinks
- Imported soft drinks
- Coffee espresso machine
- Pop
- Chicken feet
- Glutinous chicken
- Taro bao bun
- Shrimp dumpling
- French fries
- Fried fish
- Fried chicken
- Chicken strips
- Mini donuts
- Fried plantains
- Egg rolls
- Bbq chicken
- Shumai dumplings
- Dessert
- Tons of coffee cakes
- Lemon cake
- Vanilla cake
- Mochi donuts
- Beignets filled with yuzu
- Crepes
- Shaved ice
- Puddings
- Cooler filled with ice cream treats
Our Honest Opinions
And here are my quick thoughts on what I remember eating, but I’ll admit this was a blur of gorging. Keeping in mind that we’re reviewing this through the lens of a buffet… we weren’t expecting James Beard quality at an all you can eat, and you shouldn’t either.
Sushi and Nigiri: Surprisingly good! No one will mistake it for Billy or Kado No Mise, but it’s definitely on par with some of the random sushi spots around town. Easily the best buffet sushi I’ve ever had.
Bbq chicken: Meat could be a little more tender, but it was really flavorful. I went back for seconds.
Fried chicken: Wow, that’s some delicious frying. They must coat these in panko crumbs or something, because that’s some crazy good, crunchy chicken that you’d never guess was from a buffet.
Wonton: Not bad, but kind of forgettable.
Hot and sour soup: Decent flavor, but weirdly thick and gelatinous. I didn’t finish.
Taro bun: I’m a sucker for bao, and I really enjoyed these pillowy bites.
Orange chicken: now that’s some saucy orange chicken! Rich, but tasty in small doses.
Shumai dumpling: The guy next to me in line loaded up 15+ of these onto his plate, and I can see why.
Poke bowl: Nice sashimi, and I got some great rice bites, but overall I wished it had more sauce or even the classic spicy poke mayo. On round 2 through the line, I opted for extra sushi instead.
Pho: Broth and noodles were excellent, but I wish they had customizable options since the meat wasn’t my favorite. Be warned too, the bowl is pretty big and will definitely rob your stomach of space for exploring the rest of the buffet.
Hibachi station: a ton of fun to build your own, and the end product was Lily’s favorite dish of the night.
Gyoza: hot off the grill, these were just as good as most restaurants in town.
Short ribs: also hot off the grill, and judging by everyone ravaging them, appeared to be a fan favorite. The rich, fatty meat was a nice change of pace from the seafood.
Mango boba drink: fun drink with jellies inside. I liked it enough to grab a second.
Hot mini donut: Aaaamazing. I don’t want to admit how many I ate. One warning though, towards the end of the night, we got a couple of rock hard disappointments. I’m guessing this is because the crowds had cleared out and they spent a little too long in the heating tray… maybe it’s worth visiting with the crowds and waiting in that crazy line after all.
Build your own crepes: they choose the filling (a thick whipped cream concoction), and you choose the caramel sauce or chocolate sauce. Their crepe cooking was on point, and this was a fun addition.
Lemon cake: moist and tasty!
Beignet with yuzu: I loved it. The beignet was so soft, much more like a mochi beignet rather than the traditional New Orleans version, and the yuzu filling took it over the top.
Final Verdict
Look, when we go to fine dining in Minneapolis, we’re judging the creative chef crafted blah blah blah. When we’re going to a massive Asian buffet, the expectations are different. In this case, we were looking for:
- Cleanliness
- Is the food fresh or has it received an extended sauna / heat lamp treatment.
- Do they have a solid variety and
- Is the food actually good or will it make you sober up and question the life choices that brought you to slamming a buffet on a Tuesday night.
I’d say without question, Feast knocks it out of the park on all those criteria.
- The place was immaculately clean
- With just one or two rare exceptions, the food was arguably as fresh as any sit-down restaurant – a nice side effect of this spot’s massive popularity… the crowds churn through the buffet offerings at a rapid pace.
- Variety is wild. See the long list above for a partial glimpse.
- Several of the dishes were legitimately delicious. Sure, some were hit or miss, but that’s half the fun of the buffet adventure, anyway.
I will say this place is kinda weirdly expensive – $36 for one person at the time of our visit. But given the absolutely staggering amount of high-end seafood available, you can definitely get your money’s worth.
All in all, we had a blast at Feast and do think it’s an experience anyone with the slightest interest should give it a shot. Definitely a change of pace!
Random DTC Protips and FAQs:
Cost?
$36 per person for dinner, $20 for lunch.
Service
Buffet style! Staff will clear your table for you though.
Parking
Suburban lot with lots of spaces, although the lot did fill up on our first visit.
Location
1690 Woodlane Dr, Woodbury, MN 55125
Website
No website yet, just word of mouth!
